The late visual art icon Andy Warhol violated copyright when he based his silkscreen series off a photographer’s images of music legend Prince, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 Thursday. In 1984, Vanity Fair commissioned Warhol to create a piece for publication alongside an article about the musician and paid photographer Lynn Goldsmith $400 for the source image. While the magazine only received Goldsmith’s permission for one of the 16 artworks and took it to press, when Prince died, Condé Nast plastered a separate piece from Warhol on the cover of a special issue dedicated to the pop star’s life. It wasn’t until then, in 2016, that Goldsmith learned of the unauthorized works. The ruling cracks down on “fair use,” which allows a restricted use of copyrighted works without permission for specific purposes. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote the majority opinion, said Goldsmith was entitled to protection “even against famous artists,” including for derivative works. Dissenter Justice Elena Kagan expressed fears that the ruling will “stifle creativity of every sort” and “thwart the expression of new ideas.”
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